Seeing true HDR videos (specifically the Peru one) streaming from the newly updated Youtube app on an S8 was breathtaking. The significant improvement over a non-HDR capable device even made me check to see if there was a problem with my S7's screen & display settings. The contrast between dark shadows and bright colors in the same shot was huge, while the contrast between separate color hues was just as impressive. The benefit of HDR was much larger than resolution IMO; I would pick even the 480p HDR option over a full 1440p non-HDR one after having experienced both.
One of my first thoughts were how much bigger an impact HDR would be in VR, since its goal is ultimately that of more accurate depictions of images as they can appear in real life, a.k.a. immersion. Watching the video was more like peering into a window. I can only imagine the effect of viewing VR with HDR enabled.
Has there been any development or attention internally on supporting HDR for compatible devices, like S8/+/Note 8?
S7 Exynos Nougat. 2017 Gear VR. Public test channel.
Thanks for the quick response. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but when you say HDR support, it means the textures in the game will make proper use of HDR screens? (This is in contrast with HDR support on regular, non-HDR screens that just crunch the HDR info for an oversaturated look.)
Am I also correct in understanding your answer to mean HDR can be implemented in Gear VR using the Mobile SDK? If so, is any work being done too add support in Unity and UE4? AFAIK the latest version of Unity only has support for the oversaturated HDR effect on non-HDR screens; it has no support for displaying that data accurately on an HDR display like S8.
S7 Exynos Nougat. 2017 Gear VR. Public test channel.
